


The Bard's Notebook

by MACRA



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Filk, Gen, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-05 22:14:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13397358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MACRA/pseuds/MACRA
Summary: The old, weather-stained book sits beneath a chair in the tavern. The same chair that bard sat in last night. She certainly earned her drink, the way she kept the company entertained. Hopefully, if it's important, she'll come back for it...





	1. The Sands of Bloodshore or the Sea Wolf Girl

_I first heard this song at my Mother's knee. Then I forgot all about it until I went out into the wide world. The Bloodshore might be home to a hoity-toity resort now, but the past when it was where simple folk lived and loved will never disappear while this song lasts._

* * *

 

Wind from the east and it's blowing strong  
The sky is heavy and the sea looks wrong  
There's a storm a coming and it won't be long  
'Til it reach the sands of the old Bloodshore

Every lad and lass knows what's in store  
The wind will blow and the rain will pour  
Better pull the boats back up the shore  
All along the sands of the old Bloodshore

'Twas the season of storms, when my parents met  
Mama wove her spell like a fisher's net  
She snared Da's heart, made him the sea forget  
All along the sands of the old Bloodshore

I'm a Seawolf girl, I don't need no comb  
Pull my tresses straight with a pugil bone  
Take me as I am or leave me alone  
All along the sands of the old Bloodshore

When I was a young girl and in my prime,  
I'd court those sailor boys two at a time  
To dance alone always seemed a crime  
All along the sands of the old Bloodshore

Oh, the pirate lads, they all loved me so  
'Cause my lips don't tell all that my eyes know  
But one by one, they all had to go  
All along the sands of the old Bloodshore

But came the day for me to settle down  
With my bonnie boy from Limsa town  
And cast my wild days out to sea to drown  
All along the sands of the old Bloodshore

So all you sheltering from the storm,  
It's another's heart that will keep you warm  
That's the way it's been since the world was born  
All along the sands of the old Bloodshore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Eorzean songs tend to draw on my vague knowledge of real world folk music. This song borrows a lot from the sea-shanty "The Bay of Mexico," although much of the lyrics are original with me and the adapted bits have a different narrative thrust. I never had an actual tune in mind for it (despite it being their source, the words don't entirely work with the tune of "Bay of Mexico"), so feel free to make up your own. :)


	2. My Captain Lost

_The origins of this song are in "The Hunter's Lament", which has been sung by the Keeper's of the Moon in the Twelveswood for generations. Obviously, this version came about since the Calamity. Variations have spread to the other cities of the Alliance, but I personally consider this Gridanian version to be the best._

* * *

The last retreat from Carteneau  
Before the Hammer’s Fall  
They needed souls to guard the rear  
And we answered to the call.

 

Our Captain rode out, proud and tall  
No trace of doubt or fear  
She rallied us to hold the line  
As the Legion’s troops drew near.

 

With bow and steel we held them back  
‘Til our comrades reached their goal  
The time had come to follow on  
But alas we paid the Revenant’s Toll

 

Our Captain met the final charge  
With fury, fire, and pride  
Six of our foes fell to her sword  
But the seventh left his blade in her side.

 

By the time we reached the Boulder Downs  
She was looking pale and worn  
By the time we reached the Fallgourd Ford  
There weren’t nothin’ left to do but mourn

 

Sixteen fiery chocobos  
Pull a carriage draped in black  
Taking seven women to the graveyard  
Only six of us is comin’ back

 

I’ll go out to the Shrine of Twelve  
To kneel, weep and pray  
If they ask me who I’m crying for  
Let me find the words to say

 

She was a simple soldier, just like me  
Not fated for fame or grace  
She’s not counted in the Ranks of Light  
But at least I can remember her face

 

When I die, dress me in my armor  
My quiver and bow at my side  
Tie my hair back in a hunter’s braid  
So my Captain knows I’m ready to ride

 

Now you’ve heard my story  
There’s nothing more to know  
But if you’ve a mind, then raise a glass  
To my Captain lost at Carteneau

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one can be sung to the tune of "The Gambler's Blues" (aka "St. James Infirmary"). The sixth stanza is lifted from a version of that song, almost unchanged. The ninth and tenth are looser adaptations from the same song. The rest of it is my own.


End file.
